Secrets
by Madi Lynn Thomas
Summary: What happened after the end? Where did Toby go? And what about Johanna and Anthony? Toby learns that in his life, no matter how hard he tries, he can't run from his past.
1. Chapter 1: Cozy Life

"_There was a barber and his wife... And she was beautiful_…" I hear the demon singing over one of his victims. I grip the grate above me and slowly lift it.

I knew Mr. Todd was wrong inside. I knew he was evil. Mrs. Lovett's screams ring through my head. I promised I would protect her… If only she listened to me.

I climb out of the hole, slowly, not wanting to alert the killer of my presence.

"_And she was virtuous…" _Mr. Todd sings, covered in blood and tears. I reach down and grab his blade from the ground. "_And he was…"_

I step behind him and drag his own blade across his neck. His blood drips in a red shimmery curtain onto the dead woman in his arms. He deserved this. After what he did to Mrs. Lovett. After what he did to Mr. Pirelli, and all these strangers in heaps by the fire, and in the grinder, and in the pies.

I drop the stained razor and a sob escapes my throat. I run over to the oven, dropping onto my knees, letting the tears fall freely now. Mrs. Lovett is dead. She is reduced to a pile of ash. My savior, my mum, is dead.

I sprawl out on the ground and sob.

* * *

I walked confidently out of the shop, a tray of meat pies in my hands.

"Toby, go grab another tray from the basement, these are selling like mad. Mr. Todd will help you." Mrs. Lovett says with a beaming smile.

"Anything for you, ma'am!" I say happily, setting the tray I have in my hands onto the counter. I spin on my heel and run down the steps to the basement. The darkness devours me as I jog to the oven.

I open the hatch and put on heavy gloves. Pulling out a tray, I turn at a sound to find Mr. Todd smiling widely at me, his face and clothes covered with blood. His throat is ripped open into a bright red valley. He pushes me into the fire.

* * *

"Toby! Toby wake up!" Johanna says, shaking my shoulders gently.

I feel my screaming stop and bolt upright. Sweat is trickling down my face, and I am trembling all over.

"_Nothings gonna harm you_…" She sings softly to me, running her fingers through my hair. "It was just a dream, little one. Everything is fine."

I look into her eyes, and she just nods. Anthony and Johanna have taken me in. They have graciously become the closest thing to a mother and father to me that I have ever had.

That day, after I had ran out of tears for Mrs. Lovett, I slowly walked upstairs, just wanting to get away from the death and despair of the past hour. I had gone into the main shop, only to see a boy sitting on the bench, crying softly. I walked up to him, and he looked up at me. I instantly knew that it was no man, but in fact a girl, in disguise. A girl maybe four or five years older than me.

_"What's your name, ma'am?" I whisper, barely audible. Tears pool in my eyes again._

_ "I am Johanna." She says weakly, her tears momentarily stopped. "Who are you?"_

_ "Toby." I say. Then I look back at the door leading to the basement. "We should leave this place. Evil lives here…"_

_ "The man… he murdered Mr. Turpin…" Johanna whispers. "My Anthony will return soon… and we will run away from here… Where are you to go?"_

_ I pause for a moment. This woman knows about Mr. Todd. She is getting away from here, never to look back. _

_ "I have nowhere to go…" I say wearily, "Mr. Todd murdered Mr. Pirelli… And he murdered my… mum… I would have to go back to the work house…"_

_ Johanna stands, and rests her hand on my shoulder. She leans down to look into my eyes. "You can come along with me and Anthony. No one deserves to be alone after going through what you have little Toby." She says softly and brings me into a snug embrace. We both cry._

So now, I am cuddled into her side, as she rocks back and forth, petting my head. I hear Anthony rummaging around the kitchen- probably to fetch me some tea- awoken by my screams, no doubt.

I have night-mares every night. Usually about Mr. Todd. Or about Mrs. Lovett dying. Or about me dying. Death haunts me every night. But then again, death pretty much haunts me everywhere. Even small, trivial things will bring up painful memories.

Anthony and Johanna both have jobs- Anthony works at a farm, always working long days, and coming home exhausted, sunburned and blistered, and Johanna makes blankets and clothes to sell in the market. They work hard, but it is enough to afford our little flat and to keep food on the table. I don't have a job, because they insist I spend my childhood years being a child. Johanna does in fact stay home a lot- always working her fingers to the bone sewing and knitting- so she teaches me what she knows and tells me stories.

It is a cozy life mostly. We wake up early, and go to sleep early. It's a tiny one bedroom apartment. Two tiny bathrooms and a living room connected to a kitchen. Small, but cozy. It's enough for us. Anthony and Johanna share the bedroom. I sleep in the living room.

Anthony comes in and sits on the other end of the couch, handing me a mug of steamy liquid.

"There you are, Toby," Anthony says with a tired smile and he closes his eyes and his head lolls to the said. He must be exhausted.

"What time is it?" I say to Johanna.

"About four." She says, her voice sleepy, her mouth stretches with a big yawn. We typically wake at seven.

"You two can go back to bed. I will be okay." I say quietly. She looks at me, unsure.

"Okay, love, we will be in our room if you need us. If you get scared, don't hesitate to wake us." She plants a delicate kiss on my forehead and stands. She looks at her lover, who has fallen asleep on the other end of the couch.

"Anthony," she says in her small voice. She shakes his shoulder gingerly. It makes me smile to see them. You can see without a doubt that they are in love. They aren't officially married- Johanna is just seventeen, and Anthony is nineteen- although they act just like they are. "Anthony, let's go back to bed."

His eyes open for a second, and they focus on her face, a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. She smiles tiredly back at him. She holds her delicate, rose-petal hands out to him, and he rests his hard, blistered hands in them. He stands unsteadily and puts his arm around her shoulder.

"Goodnight Toby," Johanna says, and Anthony leads her back to their room.

* * *

I don't have a hope of sleeping. I would hate to leave reality and escape into my brutal past. I clutch my mug of tea and sip carefully. I have nearly three hours before my patents awake again. Which means three hours of sure boredom, unless I find something to do.

I slowly stand and walk to the other side of the room, ignoring the slight chill from the wood floor. There is a large cabinet that I use to keep my things, and Johanna uses it for storage, too. I grasp the twisting brass knob and pull open one of the large wooden doors. I see some of my clothes folded on two of the shelves. I look at the very top shelf. I see a box, on top of what I believe to be a few picture frames.

I walk briskly over to the kitchen, passing the cage of our birds. They are really Johanna's birds; three beautiful things, always singing. I stop and look at them again. My favorite, Nelly, tilts her head and pipes out a single, beautiful note. I smile, then turn away, picking up a chair. I try to carry it over to the cupboard as quietly as I could, to not wake my family. Standing up on the chair, I reach up and grab the box.

Surely it is Johanna's. She has the most things out of any of us, as she had a proper home before we left. It was more like a cage. Just one room that was all hers, but it was large and she had many things to call her own. That's much more than neither I nor Anthony could say.

I climb slowly off the chair, holding the slightly dusty box close to me. I sit the box on the couch as I grab the chair and walk it back to the kitchen, before running back eagerly and closing the cabinet as quiet as I can. I sit on the edge of the couch and place the box on my lap. I blow off the thin layer of dust and take off the lid.

I smile as I pick up a small hand mirror. Old, I can tell. It's easy to see it hasn't been cleaned or used in a while. I turn the mirror over in my hands, seeing the beautiful silver back with metal roses putting from the surface. In the center, carved in delicate writing, is the name _Johanna Lucille Barker_.

I place the mirror back into the box, and grab a small and fragile-looking porcelain doll. It is old, worn, and the dress is musty and torn, the hair is tangled and knotted, and the porcelain is smudged with what looks like ash… or mold. But anyhow, it's beautiful. I place it down on the couch beside me, as my eye catches the sight of one of the other things in the box.

I reach in and pick up a small wooden box. It is, surprisingly, well maintained, and only a tad bit of dust sits idly in the crevices. I open the box, and immediately gasp as I see five gleaming silver objects. My mind is running ahead of me and put it together. _These are Todd's blades, _It tells me.

A choked sound escapes my throat as I realize what this means. I am holding the weapons responsible of so many people's deaths. A tear crawls down my cheek, as my heart thuds horribly fast in my chest. I feel like I am hollow.

My hand moves without me and grabs one of the gleaming razors, and I stuff it under the cushion I'm sitting on. I have the box closed and back in the box before I know what happened.

I cringe when I realize what I just did. _I stole a blade. I stole a razor that has slit many throats. I hid it. What can this mean? How will I use it? Why did I even take it?_

I push the questions out of my mind as I see the last item in the box. My hands are still shaking with horror, but I pick up a picture frame. The frame is silver- and old, rusted in places. The picture inside is what really caught my eye though. It's fading, but you can see a family. A man, a woman, and a baby, held closely to the mother. This must be Johanna's family. The woman looks impeccably like her, and the man… I squint, and lean in, trying to get a good look. It's funny, the man looks so familiar. If only I could put my finger on it…

The frame falls from my grasp, landing with a clatter back into the dusty box.

_Sweeney Todd._

* * *

**A/N** And there you have it- the first chapter of my first Sweeney Todd fic. I'm working hard on the next chapter, so it should be up fairly soon. Please leave a review- it brightens my day, and makes me want to write even more :)

I do not own Sweeney Todd or any of the characters, just my story.


	2. Chapter 2: Echoes

**A/N **Okay, here is the next chapter of my story. I had a surprisingly fun time writing this, especially the gory parts. Which is sad and concerning, but whatever :P Anyway, thank you so much xXAshleyJosephineXx for my first review! I am dedicating this chapter to you :)

* * *

I walk with unsure steps to the front door, feeling the heavy weight of the razor in my pocket. I'm not sure where I'm going. I just know I need to get away from here. I hope that Johanna will not worry much when she wakes and I am not there. I did leave a note.

_ Need some air, be back shortly –Toby_

It must be about six now, so I potentially have about an hour to walk. I walk down a dark street, thinking about what I have just discovered. Johanna's father is Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd is Johanna's father. No. No, it's all wrong. Those words just don't go together. Johanna is the definition of loving and selflessness. Sweeney is a heartless killer.

My hand moves down to the pocket of my trousers, dipping inside and coming out with the gleaming silver of the haunted weapon. With a flick of my wrist, the blade swings out and shines in the faint glow from the moon. I look around quickly, looking to see if anyone is watching me. No one is here.

I slide my first finger across the blade in one slick motion- testing how sharp it is. When I bring my hand away from it, I see a line full across my finger dotted with red bubbles. I gasp quietly at the sight. It had swept below my skin so easily. The little bubbles of red grow and connect. I close the blade and put in back in my pocket, then stick my bleeding finger in my mouth to staunch the flow.

I have walked very far. I hope that I can find my way back to the house without getting too terribly lost. A tear falls from my eye. Not because of the pain of the cut- I have been beaten many times by Mr. Pirelli, and this by comparison is nothing- but because of a different pain, in my heart. I feel betrayed. _"The man killed Mr. Turpin." _She said. "The man". Her father.

It feels as though someone has sliced my heart with the razor. That lying witch. She knew that she was connected to the murderer this way and she kept it from me.

I drop to my knees on the cold stone road and tears flow from my eyes just as easily as the blood flows from my finger. I look up at the dark sky and sob.

I look at the blank brick buildings surrounding me- some are hollow and gaping, some have signs promising beautiful dresses or quality meat. I shudder as I remember that Mr. Todd put the bodies of his victims in the meat pies. I still hold on to the hope that Mrs. Lovett didn't know that. It would be too terrible a thought to know she allowed that to happen. _I _even ate the pies. _I _ate the bodies of innocent humans.

I fall forward and gag as I remember. Sweat beads on my forehead and on the back of my neck.

Finally the gagging ceases, although the horrible nausea refuses to subside. I stand up and walk farther down the street, trying to focus on slowing my heart-beat. But it is futile, as the second I look up street sign, my heart takes off again. I am about to cross onto Fleet Street.

I step wearily onto the street. I look across and see the shell that was Mrs. Lovett's pie shop. I can still see the ghost of her dancing inside, singing and cooking and being beautiful. Tears sting in my eyes. For a painful moment I consider going inside. To get the taste of the loving mother Mrs. Lovett was to me, one last time. But chances are the bodies of Mr. Todd's victims are still in there, moldering away in the basement. An echo of Mrs. Lovett's screams ring through my mind.

I breathe in a lungful of the musty street air and walk up to the haunted building. I hesitantly grasp the cold knob and turn- half expecting it to be locked. Of course, it is not, and the door swings open with a squeal. A putrid smell of decomposing hits me like a punch to the gut. I look over my shoulder, feeling an immediate instinct to turn right around and run back into the loving arms of Johanna and Anthony.

I try my best to ignore the impulse. I might never get this chance again. I need to take this time to say my good-byes to Mrs. Lovett and my old life. Maybe then it will stop haunting my dreams.

I walk into the shop, and it's like a stepping into a wall. I can almost feel the air- a huge cloud; musty, soiled, complete with the smell of death, decay and mold. It had only been a year and a half- and yet it feels as though it has been abandoned forever.

I pinch my nose to try and block the smell and walk further in.

"_There you'll sample Mrs. Lovett's meat pies-savory and sweet pies, as you'll see."_

I shudder as I remember. Me and Mrs. Lovett sweetly singing as we fed people human meat pies. Between the memory and the smell of death, I can't stand it anymore. I bend over the counter and again become sick.

After that, I sit on the bench, and try to get a grip. This is the exact spot I saw Johanna for the first time. I sigh, and stand up, ignoring the trembling in my fingers.

I make my way over to the staircase, the one that leads down into the basement. A horrible feeling climbs into my mind, spreading down, into my arms and down my legs, the worst of the feeling settles in my stomach. I am regretting coming in here. The smell emanating from the basement is choking me.

I am just about to turn around, to run as fast as I can back to my family, and to forget all about all of this. But then I see a flicker of light down at the bottom of the stairs. With that little light, it's as if someone has leaked electricity into my veins. My arms feel hollow with fear.

_"Toby! Where are you, love?" _ The sweet singing voice trails up the staircase, then hits me like a huge punch. The room spins around me, white dots dance in front of my eyes. "_Nothings gonna harm you, darling,"_

I turn on my heel to run away- panic threatening to take me under- but my leather boots slip in a puddle of rain water, and I feel a cold hand grasp my ankle. I start tumbling down the stairs.

As the blackness completely consumes me, I can only form one clear thought_. Sweeney Todd is dragging me down to hell. _

* * *

I wake up slowly. I feel like a huge, restraining blanket is holding me down. My mind seems to be reduced to mush. I can't remember a single thing. I open my eyes a crack. I see the littlest bit of sunlight. I hope Johanna won't be mad at me for sleeping in. Johanna._ Johanna Todd._

My eyes pop open. Oh god, what has happened? Where am I?

I try to prop myself up on my elbow, to see what is around me. I am at the bottom of the stairwell. Just a yard or so away is the door, propped open a foot. Oh god, the smell. It is the worst, most evil thing I have ever known. I lift my arm to cover my nose. I see it before I register the pain.

Just a few inches below my elbow, my arm is bent at a horrible angle, almost like another elbow. I see the bone poking out of my skin. I start screaming at the same time the pain hits me. The sound of my agony echoes around the stairwell and makes a deafening chorus of screams.

I feel a steady throbbing on my forehead. I use my good hand to touch the spot. I feel an area the size of my big toe that is just a ragged patch of flesh. The panic is threatening to choke me again. I need to get out of here.

I try to push myself up, using my feet and my good arm. The second I put any weight on my left foot, my ankle screams, I try to ignore it.

I look back at the door. Into the room with bodies. The pain in my arm, and in my ankle, and in my head, is just pure agony. This must be madness, but I feel the need to go into this room. I need to see if Sweeney is there. I need to see if he did this. I must be off my head.

I just remember last night, as I was going to run from him, the feeling of being_ pulled_ down into this pit. I just need to be certain.

Trying my damnedest to bare the pain, I push the heavy door open with my good hand. The smell explodes as the full of the space opens. I feel the nausea raking its icy fingers up my throat. I suppress a gag. I need to do this fast.

The light from the top of the stairway illuminates the room enough to see the bodies. Oh God the bodies. I limp forward slowly. I see the body of the Beadle. I see Judge Turpin. Oh God bless their souls. They are so eaten away by decay, and you can see that the rats have been feasting this whole time. You can hardly tell it's them. I feel the bile rise in my throat. The flies buzzing are so loud, swarming around in great hoards. I lean in just a bit when I see what I believe is Beadle's face _moving._ I only have to look a moment, because a fat maggot pops its head out of his cheek.

I turn away as fast as I can, but it's not fast enough, because I know this image will be scarred into my brain for all of eternity.

I have a mission. I walk farther into the room, and the light is dimmer here. As my eyes are finally adjusting to the near-darkness. I see the shape of two bodies. One is lying down, and the other one in kneeling. The one lying down has its head propped up on the other's knees. The kneeling one is crouched over the lying one. Sweeney Todd.

I have seen what I needed to. I turn my head away, and my gaze lands on the huge oven. I can just barely make out the shape. A single tear falls down my cheek and I turn on my heel and walk as swiftly as I can on my bad leg. I am done here.


	3. Chapter 3: Found

I limp down the street as fast as I can. So far I have only seen four or five people, and I tried to shy away into the shadows when I saw them. So far I haven't been seen. But it would make sense to _want _to be seen, because I have these horrible injuries, and someone might be able to help me. But the fear of the strangers hurting me more keeps me hugging close to the walls.

I am pretty much completely lost. I cannot remember a single thing from last night. I don't even know which way I should be going.

I see someone turn onto the street on the opposite side of the road, and I automatically shy into the nearest shadow. I bump into a big mass of warmth.

I jump back with a yelp of pain. I see a lady jump with surprise. She must be just a few years older than me. Her dark brown eyes are wide with terror. I see a pitcher in her hand. We are surrounded by flowers. It takes a moment to assess what happened.

This must be the doorway to a floral shop. She was watering flowers and didn't hear me walk up. She was hidden in the shadow and I didn't see her until I bumped into her.

"Who are you?" She says in horror. I see her retreat farther into the doorway. Her eyes search me.

"Tobias Ragg, Ma'am." I say in a slow, pained voice. "I mean you no harm."

Her searching eyes land on my mangled arm. She must think I am some crazy man. With the bloody gash on my head, the limp caused by my ankle- which may or may not be broken, I have no way of knowing- and the bone protruding from my arm.

"My god what happened to you?" She says, finally stopping her retreat. She instead takes a tentative step toward me. "You poor boy. You need to get this fixed soon if you'll want to avoid infection."

Her wide brown eyes meet mine. She is a beauty. Long curly black hair, a slim yet curvy figure, wrapped up in a casual crème- colored dress.

"Come here, boy." She says, stepping closer to me hesitantly. I limp a step closer to her, but stumble. She catches me just in time.

She wraps one arm around my shoulder, and helps support my weight as we step inside the shop. Oh yes, it is definitely a flower shop. The smell hits me like a wall- but it is so pleasant, I feel like this could be the smell of Heaven. She takes me all the way to the back of the shop, and then she opens a door, leading into a family room. This must be her house.

She leads me to a worn down couch and sits me down.

"We must be very quiet, my Momma is still sleeping. She will lose it if she sees you." The lady whispers, "What is your name again?"

"Toby." I say through gritted teeth. The pain is excruciating. "And what is your name, Ma'am?"

She starts to unbutton my shirt and I sit up straight, despite the horrible pain in my arm.

"Oh, right, you ought to do that yourself. I need your clothes off if I am to see your wounds clear." She says, a blush on her cheeks, but otherwise she seems completely professional. She must know what she is doing. "My names Violet. Violet Penske."

"Here, you don't need to take all of it off- just cut away the parts you need to." I say, taking the blade out of my pocket. She cringes away from the metal at first, but then takes it from my hand. She flips open the blade, and cuts away my shirt sleeve, just above my elbow. Then she ducks her head down and cuts away my pants leg halfway to my knee.

She looks up at me with weary eyes.

"I'll be back in just a second, Toby. Just try to relax." She says, standing up and walking through a doorway. I hear water running.

What a pointless thing to say "Just try to relax." I am in so much pain I think it's physically impossible for me to relax. I have a bone sticking out of my arm. A gash in my head. A foot I can't walk on. "Just try to relax," my ass.

Violet comes back just a second later, carrying a small basin of what I believe is water and a few rags. She sits the tub on the ground and dips a rag into it. She rings it out for a second then sit on the couch next to me.

"Look here." She says, and I turn my head. She takes the wet rag and cleans the gash on my head. I wince at the horrible pain, but don't pull away. "So, would you mind telling me how this all happened?"

I close my eyes. She keeps rubbing my forehead gently. I can tell she's trying her hardest not to hurt me.

How do I even know I can trust this lady? Yes, she is nice. She is trying to care for me. She let me into her home, even though I probably look like a savage homeless kid. But I don't want to talk to anyone about what happened. I doubt I could even tell Johanna about what happened at the pie shop. In fact, I'm not even sure what did happen at the pie shop.

"I fell down a set of stairs." I say, opening my eyes just for a second. Her face is carefully composed.

"I don't entirely believe you." She says, her voice controlled. "But it is understandable that you don't trust me enough to tell the truth."

She sighs and dips the rag in the basin again. I see that it is covered in dry and new blood.

"But in time, you will trust me." She says, a smile spreading onto her lips. I smile back tightly, but I am not entirely sure if she is being nice, or is just completely mad.

She cleans out the rag again and then leaves it in there. Then she grabs my right hand and looks hard at my protruding bone. When she moves my arm to look closer, the pain makes me want to puke. Or pass out. Or just die to get over this pain.

"I'll be right back, Toby." She says and disappears back into the room, which I'm guessing is the kitchen. She comes back a moment later with some questionable items. I see a roll of bandages,- which does make sense, because I could lose a lot of blood- a little bottle –which is vaguely familiar, but I can't place my finger on it- and a wooding mixing spoon –which makes absolutely no sense.

She sits next to me again and opens the bottle. She hands me a handful of herbs.

"These will hopefully ease the pain. I don't want to risk giving you gin. My momma would not be happy." She says.

"So… do I just… eat it?" I ask, confused. She giggles.

"Just put it in your mouth and chew it. Spit it out after a few minutes." She says, and her face darkens. "I have to talk to you about something. It's not going to be pleasant."

I put the herbs in my mouth and start chewing. I am only half convinced this isn't poison.

She holds up the spoon.

"Okay… if you ever want that arm to heal… I am going to have to realign it." She says matter-of-factly.

"Realign?" I say, looking at the spoon. This girl may have really gone mad. What on earth is she even talking about?

"I won't be using the spoon to realign it!" She says, laughing. I can't see any humor in the situation. "No, this is for you to bite down on. So you can cope with the pain a little. And so you won't scream."

Again, all I can do is stare at her and pray she won't murder me. She is definitely mad.

"I am not trying to hurt you, Toby. I am trying to help save your life. Don't you trust me?"

I look into her eyes. They are deep and warm and honest. I know this is so crazy and I have no idea how I got myself into this situation, but somehow, I do trust this complete stranger.

"Yes. I trust you." I say. A smile brightens up her face. She leans in and presses her lips onto mine. I pull away after just a second, my eyes wide and frantic.

"Sorry," She whispers, looking down. Then all of the sudden she looks up and she is all business again. "Okay Toby, I need you to be strong. Just bite down on this as hard as you can. It should be over soon. "

I nod and grab the spoon with my good hand. I see her lay a towel down in between us. She looks up at me expectantly. I nod once and put the spoon in my mouth. I bite down.

"Are you ready?" She says, griping my mangled arm. I nod. "One…" she says, taking a deep breath, "Two…" I take a deep breath now, "THREE!"

I bite down as hard as I can, and she seems to twist my broken arm back into place. My head suddenly feels like it is draining, and my vision becomes blurry. "I'm sorry!" I hear her screech as I black out.

* * *

**A/N **TA-DA! Chapter three. Again, I had a surprisingly fun time writing this. Still not sure if that's a good sign or not. Probably not.  
I am just coasting along on this story, it's so fun to write! Originally Violet didn't exist, but as I was writing, BAM, it just happened. So now it may or may not lead into a kind of a romance, but **don't worry **I will keep the creepiness and goriness all the same :)

Please leave a review, it would mean the world to me :)

I do not own Sweeney Tood or any characters, I just own the story and my OC's.


	4. Chapter 4: No Maybes

As I wake up, I feel like I am floating from the very bottom of the ocean to the very top. With each second of floating through the hazy water, my mind becomes clearer. I know I am not home. I am at a girl's house. I'm at Violet's house. She is the florist's daughter. She kissed me. She is trying to fix my wounds. She realigned my broken arm.

As I break the surface of the ocean, I get hit by a wall of pain. A horrible groan escapes my lips. It seems like the ocean I was submerged in must have been acid- because I am in so much pain.

"Shh. Toby it's okay." I hear from next to me. I turn my head in the direction. I see Violet smiling at me. "I'm so glad you are finally up. I was worried."

I prop myself up on my left arm. I look around me. We aren't in the front room anymore, but in a bedroom. I look down at my right arm. It looks as straight as it always was, but is heavily bandaged. I am glad to at least see my arm look like an arm again. I reach up with my good hand to touch the aching spot on my forehead. All that my fingers find is more bandages.

I look down at my ankle and see that it, too, is bandaged up. Violet must have worked hard to do this all for me.

"What time is it?" I ask, feeling groggy.

"It's almost noon, if you can believe it." She says. A shot of panic runs through my mind.

"I need to leave." I say. Violet's eyes darken. I see tears pool in her eyes.

"Okay Toby. Let me help you," She says when she sees me struggle to get up. She grabs my good hand and helps pull me up. She puts her arm under my shoulders, trying to support my weight.

"No, Violet, I don't need help walking. You've done enough for me already anyway." I say, shrugging away from her touch. She just smiles sadly and takes my hand. I suppose this is okay. I can walk much better with my foot wrapped up, just as long as I keep my weight off of it.

She leads me out of the bedroom and we are back in the family room. I suspect she will lead me through the door that will lead to the shop, but she leads me into the kitchen instead. It's a small room, with just a sink, and a small table with two chairs, a few cabinets. It's not as much as we have at our place, but it isn't much less.

She leads me out of the back door, onto a street that is completely foreign to me.

"Why didn't we go through the shop?" I say, looking around at this new street. I spot about twenty people milling about their way. Not one of them looks up at us.

"I didn't want my mom to see you." Violet says simply. It has been nagging at me for a while now- about how she is so against her mother seeing me. But I guess Johanna would freak if she saw a random person lounging on our couch sporting broken bones. I decide it's better not to say anything about it to Violet.

"So, where do you live?" She says, squeezing the hand she's holding gently.

"I live on Baker Street… But I am sort of lost. I ran… from my house." I look at the ground, appearing to just be examining my shoe, but really I just don't want her to see embarrassment in my face. "If you could just show me the way to Baker Street, that would be lovely."

"Hmm. Yes, I can do that. It would be rather 'lovely'." She giggles. It reminds me of wind chimes. "And I would just _love_ to hear that whole story of why you _ran_. But I supposed that can wait until next time. You know, the next time when you tell me all about how you really got your injuries."

She starts walking again, and I follow obediently.

"Maybe." I say. She scoffs.

"There are no maybes! I nursed you back to health! I saved you!" She says with mock disapproval. "You owe me an explanation."

She smiles and we keep walking, I just stay quiet. It is not five minutes later when we arrive at Baker Street. I can see our flat right down the road. My heart aches to be back into Johanna and Anthony's arms.

"And here we are." She says triumphantly, holding her head high as if she has accomplished some amazing feat. I can't help but laugh.

"Thank you so much, ma'am. I would probably still be lost and bleeding to death if it weren't for you." I say with a broad grin. I haven't smiled like this in a long time. Warmth sparks in my heart.

"Ma'am? No, no, no. I am Violet, not ma'am." She says as if teaching a child. "We are not strangers who are obligated to address each other with respect. I am not your elder. Well not my many years, anyway. We are just friends. You don't have to be polite and fake with friends. Just be yourself."

As she finishes her little speech, she flashes another huge grin. The warmth in my heart grows.

"Well thank you, Violet." I put emphasis on her name, and she smiles wider. "I am so glad I bumped into you. I think maybe we could be really good friends. Maybe I will see you around some time."

She laughs, which surprises me, and the leans in and plants a kiss right on my mouth, which surprises me more.

"There are no maybes." she says as she walks off into the shadows, leaving a trail of laughter behind her.

* * *

"Toby!" Johanna screeches as I open the door hesitantly. She runs up to me and wraps her arms tightly around me. I cry out in pain as her embrace squeezes my broken arm. "Oh good lord, I was worried sick, Toby. I thought you had died!"

She pulls back from her tight embrace and looks me over. Her eyes fill with fear and worry as she takes in my condition. I push all the thoughts I had about her being evil from my head. Surely the photograph was a misunderstanding. This angel could not have been the offspring of Mr. Todd.

"What on earth happened to you Toby?" She says, guiding me through the kitchen, over to the couch. I lay down eagerly.

"I was upset from my nightmare, so I went to take a walk." This part is not entirely a lie. "I was thinking over some of my dreams, and before I knew it, I was lost. I just so happened to walk down this alley and it was black as pitch out there at the time. I stumbled right down a stairwell."

The look of horror is plain on her face.

"Thank goodness you survived. But how did you manage to get bandaged up? Surely you did not get to a healer. You have no way to pay." Johanna says, her twinkling voice laced with worry. We both know what we don't have the money to afford a healer.

"There was this… woman." I say. I already stumbled on the lie. I know if I keep lying she will see right through it. "She was close to your age. She was working at her shop and she stopped me. It turns out she knows some things about healing. She didn't even want any payment."

There, it was close enough to the truth that she won't suspect.

"Oh you poor dear." She says, smoothing the bandages on my forehead.

"You have no idea…" I say, thinking of the bone that was protruding from my arm not five hours ago. "I need to rest, ma'am. I am exhausted."

"Oh, of course, Toby dear. I will me in my room working if you need me." She says in her sweet, gentle voice. I don't like lying to her. I really don't. I am just trying to shield her from any more evil and horrible things. So I think that justifies my lying.

She gets up and leaves the room, I lay there on the couch, nestled in a blanket.

All I can think about is Violet. If I didn't know any better I might have believed I had dreamed the whole morning. Violet is just such a free spirit. "You don't have to be polite and fake with friends. Just be yourself." She had said. I don't think I've even known any one as carefree as her. And so nice. She just took me into her home and patched me up. She didn't want anything in return… except she wanted to know my story.

The more I thought about it, the more I _wanted _to tell her who I really was. She is my only friend. She let me in and helped me and laughed with me and made me feel happier than I have been in a long time.

But what if she hates me after I tell her what has happened to me in my past? Will she think I am just a crazy kid that's been traumatized? But then again, maybe she will understand. Maybe she will talk to me and help me cope and make me feel like I belong again.

I look down at my good hand, where I had cut myself on Sweeney's blade. Violet didn't bandage it. I see the edges of the cut are a hot red color- the wound must have not taken kindly to the filth it's come across. Or maybe it's the blade. I did not wash it before I swiped my finger. Maybe there was something on it.

I hear Johanna busy rummaging around in the other room, so I slide my uninjured hand into my trouser pocket and feel around for the blade. I jump and gasp as my hand lances something unfamiliar. I take a moment to regain courage and slip my fingers around the foreign object once again. I pull it out to examine it.

My heart takes off impossibly fast as I see a beautiful, blood red rose in my hand. It is a little squished in places from being in my pocket, but other than that, it's a fully bloomed stemmed beauty. A tear rolls down my cheek.

Violet must have put this in my pocket while I was unconscious. If only she knew how much this simple flower means to me. I hold it tightly in my hand, marveling at its beauty, ignoring the sting as a thorn tears my skin.

I can picture her now, maybe in her mother's shop, surrounded my flowers just as beautiful as this one. Hundreds of them. I can imagine her twirling around in her simple crème colored dress, humming a tune as she waters the array of delicate flowers. I picture the hem of her dress flaying out at the bottom like velvet white petals. More tears roll down my face.

Violet may be the single most beautiful person I know. With those wide, honest chocolate eyes, often creased with laughter. And her flowing, wavy tresses of midnight black hair. And that smile, oh her smile that is beautiful and contagious and makes me want to sing.

She finds happiness and humor in anything. I think that maybe I need her vibrancy in my bleak life.

But of course, there are _no_ maybes.

* * *

**A/N **Okay, I am lagging a little in the gory section of this story for a few chapters, because now that I have created Violet, well I pretty much have fallen in love with her character. Expect some Toby/Violet romance in the future. I'll make sure to add in some more horror too.

Please take the time to review, it inspires me to keep writing.

I don't own Sweeney Todd or any of the characters- if I did I would have Anthony chained up in my closet and Sweeney would still be alive.


	5. Chapter 5: Truth

"Toby, you don't seem to have much of an appetite." Anthony says sleepily from across the small table. He shovels another mouthful of mashed turnips into his mouth. I look down at my plateful of food. It's not that the food isn't good- which if I'm being honest, it isn't anything like Mrs. Lovett's cooking- but it's more that the electric current of excitement in my blood is making it impossible to concentrate. I twirl my spoon halfheartedly through the mush. It's hard to keep my foot from tapping.

For the past two days Johanna has made me lay down non-stop without hardly any exceptions for getting up. She was too worried that I would hurt my injured foot more, or bump my broken arm, or maybe pass out from head trauma. Yeah, Johanna can be a pain in that way- she worries too much.

Today, though, Anthony finally convinced her that I should be allowed to get up and do some chores around the house. She was wary about the ordeal, but finally agreed. She must have sensed that I would lose it if I was stuck to my couch for too much longer. So she agreed to let me have a few hours of freedom- or not freedom exactly, but I got to walk around the house, so it was good enough for me.

As I was sweeping the kitchen, I happened to peek out of the window, and saw Violet walking pleasantly down the street with a basket nestled in the crook of her elbow- walking to the market, I presumed. I just about sprinted out the door to her. But alas, Johanna and my ankle would not respond greatly to that, so I slyly slipped out of the front door at a strenuous pace.

Once I had made it to the street, I hobbled with all my might and caught her arm just as she was about to turn onto the next street. Oh, her eyes had lit up at the sight of me. It made my heart thump stronger against my ribs. Her raven hair was half tied back, and she was wearing a modest grey dress. Her smile spread to me only after one second of being in her presence.

We had talked for only a moment- for I knew that Johanna would see that I was away fairly quickly- but we had agreed to meet up in secret tonight after our guardians had fallen asleep.

So now, I am sitting at our little table, pretending to eat my food, while Johanna and Anthony talk quietly. Johanna and Anthony eat their turnips no problem, although I am having a much harder time swallowing them down- because of my nerves, no doubt.

After Johanna and Anthony had finished eating, and I had eaten about a fourth of mine, they went into their room- to talk while Anthony rests.

Now that they aren't in here it's all I can do to not run out of the door to Violet right now. I've decided that I am going to tell her my story. From the very beginning- being an orphan, the work house, Signor Pirelli, and all about Mrs. Lovett and Mr. Todd. I know it could turn out badly, telling her these things, but I don't think it will. Violet understands, and she will help me.

After a grueling hour and a half, I step as quietly as I can to my parents door, then peek in. Anthony is fast asleep, sprawled out and taking most of the bed space, and Johanna is curled up, asleep, ducked under his arm.

I close their door quietly and then grab my long coat from its hook by the front door. As I am carefully maneuvering my coat over my broken arm, I glance at the wall clock just a second- it's just nine. I steal out the door and close it tightly behind me.

The cold night air swirls around me, brushing my shaggy brown hair across my forehead. I walk briskly over to the end of the street and wait as patiently as I can for Violet. After just a few minutes I see her step out from the shadows.

"Violet!" I say excitedly, hobbling over to her. But I stop dead in my tracks when she steps closer. A scream boils in my chest and threatens to escape.

Mrs. Lovett walks toward me slowly. Her feet drag, but she advances with terrifying confidence. It is the most horrid sight I've ever seen- even worse than the bodies in the basement. Her whole body is charred beyond almost all recognition. What few pieces of her scorched hair that remain fall flat around her face, creating an ashy curtain.

Underneath the burnt hair, I see her eyes. Once beautiful- now they are melted and sag nearly out of her skull. Her large crimson dress is all but burned away, revealing legs charred to the bone, somehow still moving her toward me.

I close my eyes as tight as I can, grinding my teeth together- trying to force myself away from here.

"No!" I shout, balling up my fist. "You AREN'T REAL! You're DEAD! I saw you DIE!" I scream.

I feel hands clench my shoulders and scream.

"Toby! Toby, what's wrong?" Violet's voice shouts. I open my eyes just as the tears start flowing from them. Violet's warm brown eyes burrow into mine, and she wraps her arms around me in a sweet embrace. The smell of flowers clings to her skin.

"Come on, Toby, let's go somewhere warmer, you are shaking like mad." She says and leads me forward. I don't bother to staunch my tears; I know that they would not stop no matter how hard I tried. I just lean into her and walk forward.

She guides us forward for a while, then we stop and a musty, hot air smelling of flowers wraps around me. I open my eyes a peek. We are in a doorway, leading to a small green house. Every corner is packed with flower pots. Flowers are everywhere- lining the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and forming an island in the middle of the room.

I gasp at the loveliness. Violet looks at me with a proud smile.

"It's so beautiful. " I say in awe. She giggles and pulls me deeper into the flora forest. I hear the door close behind me. It's dark in here, but I can still see enough to tell the colors of the flowers apart to an extent and to see the details of Violet's face. She smiles then sits down right there on the ground, not even bothering about getting her dress dirty. She pats the ground next to her.

I smile and sit next to her on her right side. She grabs my hand and interlaces her fingers with mine. A blush burns in my cheeks. I hope it's too dark for her to see.

"Toby," she says softly. I turn my head and look into her eyes. I see the shimmer of tears from the faint glow of the moon. "Won't you please tell me about yourself? I'm dying to know… and I know it mustn't be all happy and cheery… but I would love to help you."

I close my eyes and take in a strong breath.

"There was a barber…" I say, and then shake my head… that is no place to start. She squeezes my hand reassuringly. "I am an orphan." I say finally. Then the words start to flow out in a gush. "I have never known my real parents. Never even seen them. They left me in the streets and I was taken in by a stranger who happened to see me there. Then when I was around four years old, the man who had taken me in took me to the work house and left me. I lived there with a group of other forgotten children. I worked hard every day. Whippings when I wasn't working to their standards."

I stop for a second to pull a deep breath, and I look down at me and Violet's hands, clasped together tightly. I continue in a rush.

"And then when I was around nine, a man named Adolfo Pirelli took me from the work house. He made me his apprentice- he was a barber. A horrible one at any cost, and a horrible man. Evil. And he was a sham. He would whip me and beat me when I wasn't working hard enough. Or if I didn't listen. He would hurt me when I didn't even do anything wrong…"

Tears gather in my eyes as I continue.

"After a few years with him, we were putting on one of our weekly shows to get people to buy his 'Miracle Elixir'. It was a fraud of course… And a man from the crowd challenged him to a shave off… Sweeney Todd."

I choke on my words.

"Toby, it's okay, love." Violet says softly, resting her hand on my cheek, wiping away the tears that keep flowing from my eyes.

"He killed Mr. Pirelli." I sob, "And then the most pure lady you would ever know took me in… She lived with Mr. Todd. But he was evil! He was a murderer! He slit the throats of innocent people as they came in for a shave! And worse still, he made Mrs. Lovett cook the people into her meat pies."

I take a moment to catch my breath. Tremors and sobs rack my body. I feel Violet has stiffened beside me- in fear probably.

"Sweeney Todd murdered Mrs. Lovett!" I screech. "He threw her into the oven and watched her burn! And so I took his blade and killed him! I KILLED HIM!" I yell as the tears choke me.

I lean into Violet's arms and cry into her shoulder. Her soft hands rub up and down my back, soothing me. Her warmth radiates onto me, and I feel complete in this one moment.

She waits for me to run out of tears. When I finally stop my crying, I look up at her. She gently lifts her hand and wipes the tears from my cheeks. Her pale face is set in a confident, composed mask.

"You are so strong, Toby." She says. "You are so brave and so strong. Sweeney Todd deserved every second of agony you bestowed to him. Every second. I hope he burns in hell."

I lean into her body again, and she wraps her arms tightly around me.

"Thank you." I whisper into her black hair.

We sit there on the floor of the dark green-house, our bodies wrapped together, for I don't know how long. It could possibly have been hours. But eventually, we pull apart.

She straightens out her back and then lies down on the hard ground. Again, she pats the spot next to her. I lay down on the empty space, and we press our bodies together.

"They haunt me." I whisper. She leans her forehead against mine.

"Then we will fight back. I will help you chase them away." She says softly. I look into her eyes. Her beautiful eyes. She leans in the last inch and our mouths press together. This is the first kiss we've had that I was ready for. I kiss her back this time.

Our lips move together in patterns I've never known before, but I like it. Our breathing speeds as her lips part and her teeth graze my bottom lip. I shudder as a wave pleasure runs through me.

I pull back, gasping for air. A greedy smile stains Violet's face.

"I love you Toby." Her voice is just a breath, but her words ring through my head like a bell.

"I love you too, Violet." I whisper. She closes the space between us as he rests her head on my chest. I feel her arms snake around me and she holds me close to her body.

I hear her hum a song as I hold her. It doesn't last long though.

Wrapped in each other's arm there, on the hard floor of the green house, we slip into peaceful dreams, together.

* * *

**A/N **I freakin love this story. I have never been this excited about anything I've ever written! The words are just flowing so naturally, it's like magic.  
Anyway, I hope you like the, um, moment between Violet and Toby. I know I enjoyed writing it ; )

Leave a review please. Reviews=Happiness, Happiness=Inspiration, Inspiration=Me updating the story faster!

I don't own Sweeney Todd or any of the the characters. If I did, Anthony would be my lover and Johanna and Toby would be together. Yeah, I went there.


	6. Chapter 6: Snapped

I wake slowly. It must be early. The sun is just up, I can tell from the faint light painting my closed lids red. I make out voices, and focus on the words.

"-ust watering the flowers, Mum." I hear the sweet voice through my haze. Next I hear some scuffling. "No, mum, really, I don't need help, honest. Just go and handle the store."

It's the voice of an angel. I feel a smile curl my mouth up.

"Lydia Violet Penske!" I hear a rougher female's voice say. No, that isn't right. That's not the voice of an angel- but the voice of a witch. "You listen to me when I speak to you! Let me in here- I need some more Lavender for Mrs. Comer."

"No!" The angel chimes in again. "Mum, you go back to the store- to make sure no one steals, and all. I'll bring the Lavender to you in a moment."

"Lydia! There is no time for this. Out of my way- now!" I hear the witch scream. No, this is wrong. The angel should not be yelled at. The angel should be protected.

"Mum, please, just let me bring- Ahh!" I hear the sweet angel yelp with pain as I hear a soft yet prominent thud. The angel cries, and I hear the sound of foot falls skitter past me- the sound of metal scraping together and then the feet rush past me again.

"Here are your flowers, Ma'am." I hear the angel say fearfully. The witch gives a 'humph' then I hear her footsteps trot away.

I hear the sound of a door closing, and then the angel's tears increase as her sobs make ugly sounds echoed across the walls. So wrong. Angels do not deserve hurt. My eyes flutter open.

"Angel…" I whisper. The crying halts as the angel hears me. A sniffle, and then a pause. No sound.

The face of the angel appears in my field of vision- in my peripheral. I turn my head and see Violet. Her cheeks are tear-coated and her eyes are swollen from crying. I see a red weal on her cheek.

"You are an angel." I whisper, my voice slurred from sleep. A smile spreads across her lips.

"Good morning, Toby." She says softly, her voice breaking. It takes just a moment for all the pieces to fall into place.

"Did the witch hurt you?" I whisper, looking into her twinkling brown eyes. "Lydia…?"

She cracks a broken smile and tears stream down her cheeks again.

"That witch is my mother. And yes, she hurts me Toby…" She whispers sadly. "And Lydia is me. My real name…"

"You… lied…" I say, my brows pulling together. My voice is just a breath. I picture Mrs. Lovett, and Johanna.… So beautiful, and so lovely, and so pure… and yet hiding so much from me…

I feel something break deep inside me. The pain threatens to choke me.

"I didn't lie." She says, ducking her head. "My middle name is Violet. Everyone calls me that."

"Lies!" I scream, bolting upright. Violet jumps back in surprise.

"Toby…" She whispers in a startled voice. "I told you, Toby. I didn't lie."

"Why didn't you tell me!?" I scream- fury blinding me. "I COULD HAVE PROTECTED YOU! I COULD HAVE SAVED YOU!"

Violet scurries away from me a little, fear coating her face.

"WHY?" I shout. "I told you I could protect you! I trusted you! If you only trusted me I could have killed him! IT WOULDN'T BE TOO LATE IF YOU ONLY LISTENED! You are DEAD because you LIED!"

I sink to my knees as Mrs. Lovett's terrified form trembles against a flower bed.

"LIAR!" I screech.

Mrs. Lovett's lips tremble, but she remains quiet. I reach into my trouser pocket and grip the blade- cradling it softly in my hand.

I stand unsteadily to my feet and with a flick of my wrist, the straight edge of the razor winks in the sunlight.

Mrs. Lovett's eyes widen in fear.

"Violet." Mrs. Lovett whispers. Her voice shakes. Tears coat her cheeks. "It's me, Toby. It's Violet."

I feel my body start to tremble, but I keep a tight grasp on my blade. The fury runs through my veins.

A loud bang from my left side makes both me and Mrs. Lovett jump in surprise.

A thin lady with stringy black hair and fragile, blotchy pale skin stands in the open doorway- a furious look glints in her eyes.

"Who is this boy, Lydia?" The woman demands as she catches sight of me. Her eyes bulge when they see the shiny blade in my hand.

I feel like every ounce of power has leaked out of my body, but I am still locked in my position. My eyes move to the cowering body in front of me. My lovely Violet. What is happening?

Suddenly a rush of rage surges through me as I remember. This woman had hit my Violet. She hurt her.

I scream in rage as I turn and charge at the small, unsuspecting lady. Her eyes widen in fear as she see me raise the straight razor above my head. As if in a dream, I bring the blade down fast, burying it deep into the eye socket of the witch.

I hear a pained gasp from behind me. I hardly register it tough, as I am focused on the woman in front of me. I smile proudly as the blood gushes from where my blade is lodged in her head. I yank it out vigorously, splattering her blood in an arch on the wall. She sways for a moment and then collapses.

I feel all of my fear and uncertainties melt away. I step back so that the witch's blood doesn't get on my boots. A sigh of relief escapes my lips. Violet is safe. Mrs. Lovett is safe.

* * *

"You…killed my…mother." Violet says in-between sobs. I look over my shoulder. I see Violet crumpled on the floor. I turn on my heel and face her, bewildered.

"I saved you." I say matter-of-factly, not understanding how she could be anything but grateful. Her frantic eyes, still pouring out with agony, flick down to my hand. At the blade, dripping with blood. A sob breaks through her teeth.

"Toby…" she says in a broken voice. I can hear the hint of hysteria creeping into her words. "Toby…"

Her sobs only deepen as she loses what words she had wanted to say. A frown tugs at my mouth. What did I do wrong? The witch was going to hurt her. I saved Violet…In the way I could never save Mrs. Lovett.

I take a tentative step towards her, testing to see her reaction. She doesn't even notice the change. I take a few more steps. Again, she just sobs toward the ground, her tears falling into a little puddle on the dirt, not bothering to look up at me for a second.

I come to a stop next to her and drop to the ground- not hardly noticing the sting of my broken arm as it shifts.

I lean forward and rest my head on her shoulder -which is hunched downward- and wrap my good arm around the front of her body, forcing her to sit up. I notice her sobbing has stopped and now silent tears just stream from her hollow eyes.

She doesn't seem to see me as our eyes meet, but she leans in and collapses in my arms, burying her face in my shirt. Her tears soak into the dirty fabric.

"Toby…" she says, her voice sounding tired.

"Yes, Violet?" I say softly, petting her tangled midnight hair.

"You were right about saving me…" she whispers in a pained voice. "She beat me all the time…"

I brush my hands through her hair, nodding as she mumbles the words into my chest.

"You killed her." She says. It seems like she is more saying it to herself than me. I stay quiet and brush her hair back from her face.

"What do I do now?" she whispers, but from how she says it, I know she is asking herself, and not me.

"_Nothings gonna harm you…Not while I'm around._" I sing slowly. My voice cracks with emotion. Violet's head turns upward and looks into my eyes as I continue. "_Nothings gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around."_

Her tears have stopped flowing, but she still looks upset. She looks conflicted.

"_Demons are prowling everywhere, now a days…" _I sing to her more boldly now. She seems to be relaxing into my arms, her emotions melting away. "_I'll send 'em howling, I don't care, I got ways."_

"_Nothings gonna harm you… Not while I'm around." _Violet sings softly, still staring into my eyes. Her voice shocks me- it is so beautiful, even marred with the aftermath of tears.

"_No one's gonna hurt you, no one's gonna dare." _I echo her. Our songs tangle in harmony.

_"Nothings gonna harm you,"_

_ "Others can desert you,"_

_ "No sir, not while I'm around,"_

_ "Not to worry, whistle I'll be there." _

_ "Demons are prowling everywhere, now a days,"_

_ "Demons will charm you, with a smile, for a while,"_

_ "I'll send 'em howling, I don't care, I got ways."_

_ "But in time, nothing can harm you, not while I'm around."_

Our harmony breaks off as my voice trails off. We sit there in silence for a while, just looking into each other's eyes. I'm not sure how long we sat there like that -with her half sprawled out on the ground, nestled in my arms, with a dead body not five yards from us- but it could have been hours.

Finally, as if waking from a dream, she looks around in puzzlement. Her eyes scape the greenhouse, only stopping when she reaches her mother's inert form.

"What are we going to do?" Violet asks me sadly, although she isn't crying, and she doesn't look like she's about to cry. I'm glad she has finally accepted what has happened.

"I don't think you can stay here…" I whisper, just now thinking through the implications of my actions. I try to push back the flood of thoughts that suddenly try to swirl into my mind.

She looks up at me again, and I see sadness and fear resonating deep in her gaze.

"Where will I go?" She asks- her voice is but a breath. I breathe deeply, taking in the sweet smell of flowers, but also the musty, horribly familiar smell of blood.

"With me, if you'd like." I whisper to her.

She presses her lips to mine in response.

* * *

**A/N **Sorry for the super eff'd up chapter. I was really pissed off today and some of it must have leaked into my writing... or a lot of it.

Anyway, please review, I really need the inspiration right now, with school just starting today.

I don't own Sweeney Todd or any of the characters, if I did me and Anthony would be happily living _By the sea side-woah- by the beautiful sea._


	7. Chapter 7: Believed

"Just wait out here one second, okay? I've got to at least warn them." I say to Violet quickly. "Go sit on that bench. I'll be out in a few minutes."

She nods and goes to the bench I pointed out. She curls in on herself, hugging my coat tighter around her. I take a deep breath and open the front door.

I am surprised to see Johanna cuddled up to Anthony's side. He has his arms wrapped gently around her as he leans against the counter. I see his eyes are puffy and red from crying, and I see Johanna is sobbing, by the way she trembles and shakes.

"Mum, Dad!" I say, stepping into the room, closing the door behind me. Johanna's head shoots up and pure joy saturates her tear-stained face. Anthony visibly relaxes as he sees that I'm okay. I must have put them through hell.

"Toby!" Johanna wails as she rushes across the room and throws her arms around me. "Don't you dare ever leave again! The last time this happened, you came home with broken bones and no explanation. This can't keep happening." She cries as she cradles me.

I see Anthony sitting down at the table- clearly exhausted. Typically he doesn't get two days off in one week, but he must have stayed home at Johanna's request, even though it will reduce his pay at the end of the week. She must have been devastated to wake up and find me gone.

"Mum, I do have an explanation. For both times." I say after I take a deep breath.

She pulls back and stares at my face. Her eyes widen as she takes in the dirt that surely covers me from sleeping on the ground.

"Toby, where did all this blood come from?" Johanna says with terror. I shake my head at my stupidity. I should have washed my clothes, or stolen new ones. Johanna absolutely cannot know that I murdered someone. Or actually murdered two people, now.

"I'm not hurt, Mum, don't worry." I say dismissively, but it sounds much more defensive than I wanted it to.

"Tobias, explain everything, now. For both times." Anthony's steely voice responds. I take a deep breath and lower my head.

"Give me a moment," I say shortly, and turn back to the door. Just as my fingers graze the handle, Johanna's hand clamps down on my shoulder. I wince as the jolt resonates through my broken arm.

"No, Toby!" she says in a hard, demanding voice- it is so peculiar sounding, so contrasting to her voice, which is light, airy and almost childlike. "You are not going anywhere."

I just hold up a hand to stop her, and then shrug her hand off my shoulder. I grip the knob and open the door a foot.

I wave Violet forward with a hand motion. She stands up and walks hesitantly forward, like she is afraid that there might be a rabid animal on the other side of this door. I encourage her forward with a half-smile and another wave of my hand.

I open the door to its full extent as she reaches me.

I hear a gasp from behind me. I keep my eyes locked with Violet's, and she comes forward a bit and grips my good hand. I wait for a few moments before I turn back to my waiting parents.

Johanna's face is frozen with shock, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. Anthony's face is frozen in a mask of fury.

"Johanna, Anthony, meet Violet." I say confidently. Violet takes a half step closer to me as she sees the expressions on their faces. She curtsies timidly, then stands completely still at my side.

"Violet is the one that found me after I fell down the stairs. She's the one that helped me." I say proudly, and then I turn and shut the door back.

Now that we are all enclosed in the room, Johanna and Anthony seem to thaw and are suddenly in motion. Johanna steps forward with a tentative smile, and Anthony bolts upright from his chair and marches forward.

Just as Johanna is curtsying in reply and opening her mouth to speak, Anthony howls with rage.

"You scared my Johanna half to death so you could sneak around with some _girl?" _Anthony says bitterly toward me, his hand flying up in rage. I feel Violet sink closer to my side, afraid.

"And you have no right to scare _my_ Violet half to death, either!" I shout back with sudden fury boiling in my blood. "She saved my life and I saved hers! And she has made me happier than I have ever been in my _entire life_! So don't you _dare_ say she is just 'some girl'! She is _mine_!"

Everyone is shocked into silence at my outburst. I feel Violet squeeze my hand supportively, even though I feel that her hands are clammy with fear. Johanna's face is frozen in a mask of shock again, and so is Anthony's.

It takes them a minute to recover. Anthony is the first to respond.

"Oh yeah? Give me ONE good reason not to kick this girl out of my house right now!" He screams.

I take a step back in surprise and wrap my hand around Violet's shoulder. Johanna gasps at Anthony's harsh words.

"Because if she goes, I GO!" I scream right back at him. I see Johanna start to cry out of the corner of my eye. "Violet has nowhere to go! She only has me. And I am staying with her no matter if we are here or anywhere else!"

"FINE THEN, LE-" Anthony starts to scream but Johanna stops him.

"Gentlemen!" she yells in her squeaky voice, trying to be heard over our screams. We both stop and look at her, but we still are seething with rage. "No one is going ANYWHERE!"

She says forcefully, setting her jaw.

"Except Violet- to get her things. She may stay here for the time being." She finishes in a quieter tone.

The room explodes the second the words leave her mouth. Violet and I are suddenly in a tight embrace, and sobs escape her lips. And Anthony is screaming at Johanna. I don't like that, I feel like I should be protecting Johanna, now that I can ensure Violet's safety for the time being.

I step away from the crying Violet and look into her deep brown eyes, smoldering with bursting happiness and fiery love.

* * *

"And so he grabbed ahold of my foot- his hands were so vile and cold and so _real_- and he dragged me right down with him. I woke up eventually, but I was mostly convinced that I was dead. And then I realized this-"I stop to gesture to my broken arm, my ankle and my bandaged head. I take a deep breath and continue. "And so I know that I probably wasn't dead. I mean, I don't know that much about neither Heaven nor Hell, but I don't think I was in either. Too much pain for Heaven, not enough for hell, you know?"

I pause a moment and Violet nods sadly. We are curled up on the couch, enveloped in a thick blanket that Johanna made, and we are recounting our stories- our whole past.

I've learned so much about Violet these past hours. She never knew her father, as he had run off with her older sister when she was born. No explanation- and no memory of him. She says she wouldn't want to meet him if the chance arose.

She has lived in London her whole life, and her reaction was priceless when I told her of all the places I'd been- on account of Signor Pirelli. Envy etched every word she spoke on the topic. "Tell me more of the scenery." "Mountains, you say?"" They wore _what_?" It was obvious that she has never been away from home the way she hung on every word. I promised I would take her out of London once I got the opportunity- she was beaming.

I take a second more to sip some herbal tea Johanna made up- it's not exactly good, too earthy for my taste, but it definitely warms the cold seeping into my blood. I take a deep breath and then continue.

"And I was right at the door to _the_ room. The one it all happened in. I knew there would be bodies everywhere- I knew that- but still, something inside me made me _need_ to look, you know? Like something made me need to _see_ him dead. I need to know for sure. It's hard to understand, I know, just…" I trail off, taking another sip of my tea. Oh how I wish it was gin- so it would numb the pain instead of just warming me from the coldness.

"And so I looked in. It was exactly the same as I left it- just all decayed and rat eaten." I feel Violet shudder into my side and I press my cheek to her forehead, trying to reassure her. "And so I just left. But I was lost, of course… and then I ran into you." I say finally.

"Not what I was expecting." She says quietly, after a minute of consideration. "And I guess that means you didn't lie to your… parents… about the whole falling down the stairs thing.

And that's a whole different thing entirely. When I was explaining all the details of my relationship with Johanna and Anthony, Violet didn't understand in the slightest; why I would stay with them when I have no real connections to them at all, why I would let them control me and punish me, and everything else. I told her I loved them. All she said to that was, "You don't know them." I think she's just bitter that Anthony got mad at me when I brought her in, which is understandable, so I didn't talk much more on the topic. Parents are a touchy topic in both of our situations.

"Yeah, it just means I'm going crazy…" I say quietly.

"Toby, no, it's perfectly rational, you have bee-" Violet chimes in, trying to console me.

"You are deluding yourself if you are trying to convince yourself of that. You don't have to pretend it's not happening. I know I am losing my sanity, and it's just fine with me… That is, until I try to hurt you again…" I say as she cringes into my side. We both remember with perfect clarity how I had raised my blade to cut her as I saw her through mad eyes.

"No, Toby. You aren't going mad." I open my mouth to state the obvious yet again, but she holds up a hand to stop me. "You have been through Hell and back, and that is bound to have a lasting effect on you. But I told you that I would protect you. I promised you that I would fight off your ghosts and stay strong by your side every minute. You can _beat this_."

I look into her deep brown eyes, searching, but I find only the deepest sincerity and love.

"You think so?" I say, letting all my emotions crawl out of my eyes in little rivets down my face. I don't try to hide the fear coating my words. She looks into my scared eyes with confidence.

"Absolutely. I believe in you, Toby."

* * *

**A/N **Okay, I'm dealing with super technical difficulties at the moment, so basically I can't use the internet on my laptop at all. So that means, even though I've had this chapter written for a while, I had to wait to do it on my mom's computer. So after much difficulty and much swearing under my breath, here you have it. Chapter Seven.

Please leave a review, it legitimately makes my day whenever I see a new review. If you do, I'll love you forever, and I promise I wont murder you :)

I don't own Sweeney Todd or any of the characters. If I did, Toby and Anthony would be my personal sex slaves. (Too forward? Haha)


	8. Chapter 8: Home

I wake up to complete silence. The silence is not eerie- it is full of contentment. Everything is as it should be. I sit up slowly, trying my hardest not to rustle my broken arm. My back pops and a groan escapes my lips. Sleeping on the floor was definitely now cozy, but I think it's worth it to know Violet is comfortable.

It is still pitch black in here, but my eyes are slowly adjusting. I look over and see a faint silhouette of a sleeping Violet. I stand up with great care not to make any noise. I walk up to the couch on which she lies, softly stoking her head. I bend down quickly and plant a kiss on her brow.

Still trying to be as silent as possible, I make my way into the kitchen, and after fumbling in the dark for a minute, I manage to light a single, dim lantern. I sit the glowing cage on the table and step towards a cupboard. I pick up a small loaf of dense bread, tear off a chunk and then place it back quickly, shutting the cabinet softly.

I walk back to the table and sit beside the lantern. As I dust off the stale bread and nibble, I watch Johanna's birds in the dim light. I see one of them hopping excitedly from one branch to another. I stand and walk over to the brass cage. It was my favorite bird, a little yellow one I call Nellie, who was doing the hopping. As I approach, Nellie's head tilts sideways and she chirps a single, questioning note. I smile and break off a large crumb from my bread.

I stick my finger in the cage, and after giving one more curious chirp, Nellie hops forward along the branch and pecks the bread off of my finger.

"Pretty bird." A sleepy voice sings from behind me. I start, I hadn't known that Violet was up. A blush floods my cheeks, and I pray that there isn't enough light for her to notice.

"Sorry I woke you." I mumble and turn to face her. Nellie chortles again- telling me to pay her attention. Violet steps forward eerily from the shadows, into the small circle of light form the lantern. Her midnight black hair is frizzy and unkempt, causing a sort of a birds nest to form on the side of her head. I laugh at the sight.

"Not funny!" she says, embarrassed, as she tries to smooth out the mess with her fingers. "And you didn't wake me. The singer did." She says, gesturing to the cage behind me.

"Sorry about that," I say with a taunting smile. Violet laughs and walks up to me. She smiles sleepily as she reaches me, and then she wraps her arms around my waist and pulls me close to her. The blush covers my face again, as I remember that she probably isn't wearing anything more than a thin nightdress. She's practically naked against my body.

As I have that thought, I am suddenly _aware_ of her body. I move my hands to rest on her waist. She body is so soft, warm, curvy. A blush creeps up my neck. She tilts her head up to look in my eyes. She must see how embarrassed I am because she laughs. She pulls away from me, and I am just opening my mouth to ask her to come back when she turns and pushes me backward.

I fly back and narrowly miss the birds' cage, landing with a thud as my back hits the wall. I am too shocked to respond, but I don't have to because Violet slams her body into mine, pinning me to the wall. Her lips lock onto mine fiercely.

It takes me a second to register what happened, but then I move my mouth roughly with hers. I feel her hands tangle in my hair, pulling greedily. I pant in between her rough kisses, and I place my hands on her hips, gripping her nightdress in my eager fingers.

"Ahh, Toby." She moans against my lips and then forces them back onto mine. Our tongues tangle with each other's and I grip her dress tighter. Her hands release my hair and trail down my chest, and a soft moan escapes my lips as a wave of pleasure floods me.

The sound of a door shutting quietly freezes us both in place. I quickly shove her off of me and she stumbles, falling to the ground in a stupor. I try to smooth my hair back in place and wipe the moisture from my mouth. My heart is thudding impossibly fast.

Anthony steps into the dim circle of light, squinting skeptically at me.

"What's all this noise?" he says sleepily, looking around. When his eyes find Violet, one eyebrow raises in question. "Do you need help?"

Violet shakes her head violently, most likely remembering his reaction to her when I first introduced her to him. She scrambles to her feet and walks over to me with her head ducked.

"What time is it?" he says. He doesn't sound mad, maybe a little annoyed though. I glance at the clock quickly.

"Just past six." I say quietly, wrapping an arm around Violet. Her body is hot against mine.

"Why aren't you in bed then?" Anthony grumbles as he walks across the kitchen, heading for a cabinet.

"Nightmare." I say, at the same time Violet whispers "Birds…"

We both blush and duck our heads. Anthony nods, but I can see the glint of understanding in his sleepy eyes.

"Well feel free to go on back to bed, then. I've got to get ready to work, but you two can slip in another hour if you try." Anthony says, taking a big bite out of a loaf of bread.

I nudge Violet in the direction of the couch, but say "I haven't a hope of sleeping. I'll company you while we wait for the ladies to rise."

Violet walks back into the darkness, and I hear the sound of rustling blankets as she climbs back onto my springy couch.

"So," Anthony sighs, sitting down at the small table. He take another bite of stale bread, lifts a bottle to his mouth, and drinks eagerly before sitting it back down and continuing. "You gon' tell me what that was all about?"

A blush again paints my face and neck.

"What do you mean?" I whisper, trying to hide the lie in my voice.

"With her…" he says, nodding his head in Violet's general direction. I take a moment to compose an answer- a fake answer of course, because I am positive Anthony would not take kindly to hear what was really about- but he holds up a hand to stop me.

"No, no lies, Toby. Truth be told, I don't give a damn what you were on about, and I don't want to know." He leans in toward me- his eyes are hard with anger. "But listen to me closely, Toby. I don't like this girl and I don't want her here. You are very fortunate that Johanna stopped me, because I would have kicked both you and the girl out on the street in a second if I thought it would help Johanna."

Anthony pauses for a second to take another swig from the bottle.

"So don't mess up." He says, his voice but a low growl. "The first time she is a nuisance, she _will_ be gone, understand?"

I nod quickly, fear seeping into my veins.

"I understand."

* * *

"So what should we do with it?" I say quickly, pulling in a long shaky breath.

"Burn it?" Violet says in a whisper. "We can't just leave it here."

"I agree. Do you think we should just… burn the greenhouse down?"

"No!" Violet says forcefully. "Let's just… bring the body out to the stream over there." She stops to gesture north. "No need to burn her."

I shake my head dismissively.

"That won't work, Vi, someone would see us." I sigh, turning away from the greenhouse. Violet stays in place, staring at her dead mother, sprawled out on the hard ground, crawling with flies.

"How about we do it when it gets dark?" She says, whispering again.

"Sure." I say simply. I don't think she understands exactly how unpleasant carrying a dead body would be, but I don't say so to her. I can carry it myself if I need to, and that's what I intend to do, to save Violet from the experience.

I walk up and shut the greenhouse door. As if waking from a dream, Violet turns to look at me. Her eyes are vacant, yet very sad, deep, deep inside.

"Let's go. We need to clear out the house." I say softly, and she nods robotically.

As we walk toward the back door to her house, a chill settles into my bones, and by the time we enter the house, both me and Violet are shivering in each other's arms, despite the morning sun.

As we walk into her small kitchen area, closing the back door behind us, the chill only seems to deepen.

"Okay, Vi, I will clear out what food I can manage, and find some chests. You get your things and other things that will be useful… money, if you are willing to give some up."

"Of course, Toby." Violet says with a shadow of a smile on her lips. "There are some pretty sturdy chests in my mother's closet, that way." She says, pointing. I nod and turn away to fetch them. Violet heads toward another door- her room, I'm guessing.

I head back in to family room- where I lay broken on her couch while she tended to my wounds. I smile at the couch, while I move to the door. I walk into her mother's room, stopping at a large cupboard. Opening it, I she shelves and shelves of picture frames and boxes, just as I had back at my house, in the cupboard in my living room, where I had found out that Johanna is Sweeney Todd's daughter.

I still haven't talked to Johanna about it. And I doubt I could, anyway. I'm sure Anthony would kick both me and Violet out of the house if I go around accusing his Johanna. And anyway, what difference does it make really, Johanna being Sweeney's daughter? Johanna is still sweet and kind and excepting- she is not cruel and evil like her father. The only thing is that she carries his blood in her veins.

I shake my head, rejecting the thoughts from my mind. I look down and see about three large trunks. I grab one of the smaller ones and carry it back to the kitchen. I start loading jars of canned vegetables and loaves of stale moldy bread into the trunk. I have almost the whole contents of the cabinet loaded into the chest when Violet comes in.

"Toby, I have something for you." I look up and see her hands are cupped in front of her. I walk forward hesitantly, and she opens her hands, revealing a wad of folded bank notes.

"Violet! How did you get all of these?" I say in awe.

"The flower shop, of course! I took it from the register. There must be a thousand pounds here!" She is practically glowing with excitement. I drop the last of the canned vegetables in the trunk and embrace her. I feel hope in my heart that encompasses me, making me feel feather light.

"Violet, I know what we can do…" I say in a breathy whisper. She pulls away from me to look into my eyes, and I see concern plain on her heart shaped face.

I take in a breath and say simply: "We can run away."

* * *

**A/N **I'm sososososo sorry for the long wait on this. School started and I just couldn't find the time to write, and I had HORRIBLE writers block. But alas, I have finished the chapter, and here it is.

I don't own Sweeney Todd or any of the characters, if I did, Anthony would be my personal stripper. Yeah, picture that.


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